OnStar And IBM's Watson Making An Elemental New Pairing

Photo Credit: General Motors

1980s television show Knight Rider gave audiences a likable impression of a vehicle controlled by a computer-based artificial intelligence that had seemed futuristic until recent years. In a new partnership between General Motors and IBM, we really have to wonder if our connected automobiles may evolve into our own personal K.I.T.T. by the end of 2017.

Set to be available on two million General Motors automobiles with OnStar 4G LTE connectivity, enhanced driver management and productivity functions inside a vehicle's cabin will be made possible through the Watson cognitive mobility platform. Becoming OnStar Go, the new connected in-car technology will provide users with a greater level of efficiency as the system adjusts to personal preferences. Working alongside other corpororate partners Mastercard, ExxonMobil, iHeartRadio Parkopedia and Glympse, the Watson-aided OnStar Go can provide services to operators at a near instant. Traffic information including traffic jam avoidance, arrangements for parking or recommendations for dining are some features provided through the service that are familiar to infotainment systems. Mobile payments paying for fuel or even a cup of coffee have also been unleashed with the promise of OnStar Go. Through IBM's Watson, personalization will lead to solutions where the driver and/or occupants of the vehicle will enjoy curated radio station options as well as even recommending the best, proper fuel.

The late 2017 introduction of OnStar Go appears heavily weighted in the United States. No mention of a timetable for the appearance of this type of technology in Canada. Despite the scope OnStar Go will be operating, the system's full capacity in automobiles deeply channels a discussion where we accept a range between contributing data for expanding connected technology and personal privacy.

Both OnStar and Watson have already provided some possible concerns in creating a balance using technology. Described as possessing cognitive computing abilities or generically acknowledged as artificial intelligence, Watson has the capacity to learn, generate conclusions and development more effective communications with humans using vast data collection. Watson is first of the first commercially utilized form of cognitive information technology and has several companies and industries looking into its adoption. To date, IBM's Watson is best known for participation on the popular TV quiz show Jeopardy where the advanced computing program proved a tough rival facing human contestants. OnStar technology has already shown the capacity of providing a real-time vehicle data link. Among feats of OnStar is the ability to facilitate communications between a car. Consumers would best define the General Motors' backed solution connection through either the hand-free contact with OnStar personnel and most recently through 4G LTE data. Through OnStar, vehicle's vital systems can also be monitored while the ability to remotely shut down a stolen enabled automobile has also dramatically demonstrated the technology.

Operators or customers will be offered the option to consent OnStar Go's IBM Watson technology to collect data on individual driving habits and preferences. American drivers who will choose to participate with the OnStar Go should set a major tone for allowing the use of cognitive technology in everyday life.

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